Bedbuyer™ is Australia’s largest online bedding resource and leading independent mattress review website. Our site contains more than 1,600 mattress reviews conducted by an expert team of health professionals with extensive experience in clinical patient care, spinal health, and mattress assessment.
This page outlines Bedbuyer’s mattress review process and explains how we assess and compare mattresses across the Australian market.
All mattress reviews published on Bedbuyer are completely independent and unbiased. We do not accept payment or financial incentives in exchange for reviews, ratings, or recommendations. Our mission is to provide Australian consumers with genuine, trustworthy, and evidence-based information to help them choose the right mattress for their individual needs.
Our review team conducts mattress assessments at retail stores throughout Australia, as well as through direct testing of mattresses supplied for review – particularly mattress-in-a-box products.
Where possible, members of the Bedbuyer review team will sleep on mattresses as part of the testing process. This is more achievable with mattress-in-a-box products, while retail showroom mattresses are typically assessed through detailed in-store evaluation and comparative testing.
Firmness ratings
To help consumers understand how firm or soft a mattress feels, Bedbuyer assigns a rating using our proprietary firmness scale. This allows easier comparison between different mattresses and may assist consumers in selecting a mattress suited to their preferences.
Many of our reviews include a firmness scale graphic. For example, a mattress with a 7/10 firmness rating would generally be considered “medium-firm”, where 10/10 represents the firmest feel.
It is important to understand that firmness and comfort are not the same thing. Two mattresses may share the same firmness rating while feeling very different due to differences in materials, support systems, and surface comfort layers.
Likewise, a softer mattress is not necessarily more comfortable. Some firmer mattresses provide exceptional comfort and support depending on body type and sleeping position.
Bedbuyer firmness ratings are based on our own independent testing process and may differ from ratings provided by mattress manufacturers.
It should also be noted that mattress firmness, support, and overall performance can vary depending on the type of bed base used.
Responsiveness ratings
Responsiveness refers to how a mattress reacts to normal body movements during sleep. A well-balanced mattress should allow sleepers to move and change positions comfortably and effortlessly.
A mattress with excessive responsiveness may feel overly bouncy and increase partner disturbance. Conversely, a mattress with very low responsiveness may feel restrictive and make movement during sleep more difficult.
Both extremes are generally considered undesirable from a comfort and usability perspective.
Many of our mattress reviews include a responsiveness scale graphic to indicate how naturally the mattress responds to movement and positional changes during sleep.
Assessment categories
Bedbuyer assesses each mattress individually while also considering how it compares to competing products within the broader market.
Each review includes:
- A detailed written summary
- An overall star rating
- Ratings across five key performance categories
These categories reflect the areas that Australian consumers consistently identify as most important when purchasing a mattress:
- Comfort
- Spinal Support
- Build Quality
- Partner Disturbance
- Value for Money
1. Comfort
Comfort is assessed subjectively by Bedbuyer’s expert review team across a wide range of sleeping positions and body movements.
Some mattresses absorb body weight evenly and minimise pressure on key areas such as the shoulders, hips, and lower back. Others may create pressure points or fail to provide balanced comfort across different sleeping positions.
Based on Bedbuyer consumer surveys, comfort remains the single most important factor people consider when purchasing a new mattress.
Our comfort assessment includes:
- Comfort while side sleeping
- Comfort while back sleeping
- Comfort while front sleeping
- Pressure relief around the shoulders, hips, and pelvis
- Ease of movement during positional changes
- Responsiveness during normal sleep movements
- Overall feel and weight absorption of the comfort layers
2. Spinal Support
Spinal support is one of the most important aspects of mattress performance, as it directly influences spinal alignment and sleep posture.
Our team assesses how effectively each mattress maintains the body in a healthy, neutral sleeping position. This includes subjective assessment, visual observation, photography, and spinal alignment measurements.
Spinal support is evaluated across multiple sleeping positions and movements, including:
- Spinal alignment while side sleeping
- Spinal alignment while back sleeping
- Spinal alignment while front sleeping
- Support during positional changes
- Overall postural support and body stability
3. Build Quality
Build quality relates to the overall construction, durability, and material quality of a mattress.
Some mattresses feel lightweight or poorly constructed, while others demonstrate strong craftsmanship, durable materials, and long-term structural integrity.
Using years of experience and careful physical examination, Bedbuyer assesses each mattress based on factors such as:
- Quality of comfort layers, foams, fabrics, and outer materials
- Quality of internal support systems and spring construction
- Edge support and perimeter stability
- Overall sturdiness and structural integrity
- Durability expectations
- Use of advanced or specialised technologies
- Heat dissipation and breathability
- Hypoallergenic or anti-bacterial properties where applicable
4. Partner Disturbance
Partner disturbance refers to how much movement transfers across the mattress when another person changes position during sleep.
This is an important consideration for couples, particularly where one partner is a light sleeper or moves frequently throughout the night.
Some mattresses isolate movement extremely well, while others allow noticeable motion transfer across the sleep surface.
Bedbuyer assesses partner disturbance using:
- Subjective real-world movement testing
- Observation using water bottles or glasses
- Vibration measurement applications and testing tools
5. Value for Money
Value for money is assessed by comparing the mattress against its asking price, performance, features, and overall market position.
Mattress prices in Australia range from only a few hundred dollars to well over $20,000, making value assessment an important part of the review process.
When assessing value for money, Bedbuyer considers:
- Overall quality relative to price
- Comparative value within the broader market
- Comfort, support, and partner disturbance performance
- Delivery experience and customer service
- Trial periods, warranties, and return policies
- Long-term durability expectations
We hope this page has provided a clear overview of Bedbuyer’s review process. If you have any further questions, please drop a comment below.
Bedbuyer is Australia’s leading independent mattress review site. To read our disclosure and disclaimer statement, click here.